Gun-carriage



April 25, 1967 H. KLAPDOHR ETAL 3,315,566

GUN-CARRIAGE med July ze, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l F/gf i /n Ve zor #uw nig/7M CM'M mm @54,

April 25 1957 V H. KLAPDOHR ETAL 3,315,566

GUN-CARRIAGE Filed July 26, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

April 25, 1967 H. KLAPDOHR ETAL 3,315,566

GUN-CARRIAGE Filed July 26, 1965 4 SheetS-Shee' 4 nited States Patent Otlice 3,315,566 Patented Apr. 25, 1967 5,566 GUN-CARRIAGE Hans Kiapdohr, Erkrath, Franz Horn, Osterath (Lower Rhine), and Erich Zielinski, Dusseldorf, Germany, assignor-s to Firma Rheinmetall G.m.b.H., Dusseldorf, Germany Filed July 26, 1965, Ser. No. 474,579

Claims priority, application Germany, July 28, 1964,

16 Claims. (Cl. 89-40) The invention relates to a gun-carriage, consisting of a box-section carriage frame connected at one end with the road axle Ior a carrying axle of the carriage and carrying ground spurs at its free end.

A gun-carriage is already known in which the sidepieces of the carriage framework consisted of parts which were linked together and in the firing position were sprung apart in parallelogram form in order to obtain a wide lateral field ofre. The handling of this carriage, however, was very involved and time-wasting, and in addition, because of the many links, did not offer sufficiently firm support for the gun.

ln addition, a gun-carriage consisting of a front carriage and a single-axle rear carriage was known, in which the rear carriage was supported on the front carriage by means of a frame which could pivot in a vertical plane. The rear end of the rear carriage representing the gun-carriage could thereby be lowered to the ground r raised into the travelling position by actuating the frame. However, the operation of this arrangement was also very involved and time-wasting, so that rapid changes in the position of the gun, to meet modern requirements, were impossible to achieve.

The requirements for a modern gun-carriage are in fact very comprehensive. Thus the gun should be capable of being brought into the firing position in the shortest possible time, even on uneven terrain, and also it should be possible to eifect a rapid change of position. In addition, a good range of fire (wide lateral and vertical range) should be accompanied by great rigidity and freedom from tilting, even when firing in a sideways direction, and finally, operation should be kept so simple that the gun can be brought into operation by one man if necessary.

By means of the invention a gun-carriage has now been creat-ed which meets these requirements, being characterised by the fact that the carriage framework consists of self-contained frame with side-pieces which are sprung apart in approximately rhomboid form, connected by way of known resilient arms with the carriage wheels, whereby the ground spurs are provided on the ends of a frame which is supported so that it can tilt round an axis arranged in the vertical longitudinal central plane of the carriage. The ground spurs are advantageously also supported against the carriage framework by means of supporting members which are variable in length. This allows not only shooting with a wide lateral range of fire but also shooting with high elevation, accompanied by great rigidity and freedom from tilting of the carriage. The whe-els of the carriage thereby form in a known manner two points of a three-point support, while the tilting spur frame with its ground spurs arranged at the ends provide the third point of support. The ground spurs at the ends of the spur frame, in conjunction with the supporting members which are variable in length, hereby oder an extraordinarily high degree of rigidity when shooting in a sideways direction.

As an advantageous development of the invention, the carriage framework also has at its free end in a known manner one or more steerable supporting wheels which are also movable in a vertical plane. By means of these supporting wheels, which can preferably be lowered and raised hydraulically, rapid positioning and equally rapid changing of position s made possible, in that when the supportng wheel axle is raised the carriage frame is lowered, whereby the ground spurs grip evenly in the ground because of the articulated support of the spur frame. When the supporting wheel axle is lowered, the carriage frame is raised and the ground spurs pulled out of the ground.

As a further advantageous development of the invention, a drive motor is associated in each case with the carriage wheels, whereby the gun can be brought even more rapidly and easily into a suitable tiring position. In addition, this also allows operation of the gun in terrain which cannot be traversed at all, or only with great difficulty, by towing vehicles. A very great contribution to the extraordinarily good cross-country manoeuverability of the gun-carriage is hereby made by the spr-ung arms already mentioned above, by means of which the carriage framework is connected with the carriage wheels, in that the arms are linked to a carrying axle rigidly connected with the carriage framework. The -arms are hereby very advantageously attached to the ends of a common rotating bar spring which is arranged in the carrying axle of the carriage framework and tensioned in the central area in the carrying axle. By means of this construction, a very long spring stroke is produced for the carriage wheels, thereby allowing the gun to be utilised also on uneven terrain. In order to achieve the stable mounting necessary for this purpose, the arms are supported in an advantageous manner by means of hollow guide trunnions in the carrying axle.

Further details of the invention are explained in the description of the embodiment shown in the drawing wherein various parts, for the sake of clarity, are shown by broken lines or transposed. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the gun and carriage,

FIG. 2 is the side elevation (one carriage wheel removed),

FIG. 3 is a partial side View of FIG. 2 on an enlarged scale, and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal partial section through the resilient mounting of the swingle arms.

The carriage framework of the gun-carriage in FIG. l in a simplied form, consisting of a self-contained frame 1 of approximately rhomboridal shape with side-pieces 2 sprung apart in approximately rhomboid form and having at its front end which carries the gun, a tubular axle 3 rigidly connected with the frame. To this axle are linked sprung arms 4 on which the carriage wheels 5 are supported. The rear, free end of the frame has arms 6 forming a spur swingle in the shape of a sub-frame which is supported so that it can pivot on a shaft 7 whose axis is arranged longitudinallyand centrally as to the frame of the carriage. Ground spurs 9 are provided on the ends of the arms 6. The sub-frame formed by the arms 6 consists of a welded tubular frame which, is of rhomboid shape in plan view, whereby the ends 8 carrying the ground spurs form an angle with each other in a vertical plane. The ground spurs are also supported on the carriage framework by means of members 10 which are variable in length and consist of shock-absorbers. Comparatively heavy hydraulic shock absorbers are advantageously used. By means of compensating springs 22, which are arranged at a suitable point between the side-pieces 2 of the carriage framework and the spur arms 6, the spurs are held in the central position when the carriage is in the travelling position. In the embodiment illustrated, coil springs are shown in FIG. 2. If desired, however, a rotating bar spring can also be provided to form the axis of the spur arms 6.

The carriage framework has at its end remote from the wheels 5, two supporting wheels 11 mounted on a short common axle 12. The axle 12 is arranged on an arm 13 which is supported at 14 so that the wheels can move in a vertical plane. The support for the arm 13 is part of a shaft 15 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 16 `attached to the carriage framework. By means of a hydraulic cylinder 17, which is mounted on the carriage framework and engages with the shaft by means of a lever arm 18, the shaft and thus the arm 13 with the supporting wheels can be pivotally mounted, whereby-as can be seen in FIG. Z-the carriage can be brought into the firing position by raising the supporting wheels or into the travelling position by lowering the supporting wheels. A steering device 19 is provided and coupled by means of a lever 20 to a steering wheel 21. In this way the guncarirage becomes steerable when the supporting wheels are lowered. This position of the supporting wheels, that is the travelling position of the carriage, is shown in FIG. 2 in dot and dash lines.

The arms 4 are attached to the ends of a torsion bar 23 which passes through the entire length of the axle 3, and is secured by means of a screw 24. The torsion bar consists of several at bars held together and tensioned in the longitudinal central plane of the carriage in a support 25 arranged in the axle 3. To guide and support the arms 4, the latter have hollow guide trunnions 26 thr-ough which the rotating bar spring also passes and are supported in the axle 3. The length of the guide trunnions 26 is comparatively large for example 2 to 21/2 times their diameter. In addition, on the arms 4, at the end opposite the axle 3, guide arms 27 are provided which are guided in U-shaped guide rails 28 arranged on the carriage framework. By means of the support of the guide trunnions 26, stable guiding of the arms and thus of the carriage wheels is achieved, in that horizontal forces acting on the carriage wheels are absorbed with certainty.

To disengage the structure during firing, the arms are locked to the frame of the carriage. For this purpose, a hydraulic cylinder 29 is provided at each side of the carriage framework, linked to the axle 3 and with its piston rod engaging a bell crank lever 30, which is supported on a pin 31 arranged on the carriage framework. When the supporting wheels are raised, the hydraulic cylinder 29 is actuated simultaneously, whereby the angle lever is actuated on its pivot until its end 32 abuts against a stop 33 attached to the arm. When further force is exerted on the lever 30, the arm 4 is pivoted with respect to the carriage framework until the stop 33 comes to rest against a buffer 34 provided on the carriage framework. During this locking step, the carriage framework pivots round the torsion bar 23, whereby the frame is lowered in relation to the arms. In this way, a lreduction in the elevation is achieved simultaneously with locking of the arms.

A drive consisting of a hydraulic member or motor 35 is associated with each of the carriage wheels. In order to accommodate a reduction gear, the arms are of dished construction, whereby a gearwheel 37 with internal teeth, attached to the carriage Wheel axle 36, engages like a cap in the hollow space 38 of the arm. The drive motor is arranged on the arm and a suitable recess is provided in the wall of the arm through which the drive pinion 39 projects.

On the rear end of the carriage there is also arranged a drive unit 40, consisting of a motor, oil pumps and oil tank, and also a drivers seat 41, from which the gun carriage can be controlled.

We claim:

1. A gun carriage comprising an axle, ground engag ing wheels and spring supported arms with the axle supported on the wheels, a frame of approximately rhomboidal shape mounted on the axle, a ground engaging spur provided at eachside of the frame, each spur being mounted on an arm which is supported on the frame for pivotal movement about a shaft whose axis extends longitudinally relative to the frame.

2. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which supporting members of variable length are provided with the arms supporting the spurs being also connected to the frame by the supporting members.

3. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which supporting members of variable length are provided with the arms supporting the lspurs being also connected to the frame by the supporting members, and in which the supporting members comprise shock absorbers.

4. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which the arms supporting the respective spurs comprise part of a welded tubular sub-frame.

5. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which the carriage in its travelling position has the spur supporting arms held in a central position by spring means.

6. A gun carriage according to claim l, in which the pivoted axis of the spur supporting arms comprises a rotating bar spring.

7. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which the frame has at its end remote from the ground Wheels at least one additional ground wheel which is steerable and also movable in a vertical plane into and out of engagement with the ground.

8. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which a torsion bar is provided with the spring supported arms being linked by the torsion bar to the axle of the ground engaging Wheels.

9. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which hollow guide trunnions are provided in the axle with the spring supported arms being supported by means of the hollow guide trunnions.

10. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which the axle is tubular and a common torsion bar is provided with the spring supported arms being attached to an end of the common torsion bar tensioned in the longi tudinal central axis of the carriage in the tubular axle thereof.

11. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which spring supported arms are guided on the carriage frame at their ends remote from the axle.

12. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which means are provided for locking the spring supported arms relative to the carriage frame.

13. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which the spring supported arms are pivoted into a position relative to the axle and are capable to be locked in this position.

14. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which a motor is provided for each ground wheel to drive the latter and the motor being supported on its spring supported arm.

15. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which a motor is provided for each ground wheel to drive the latter and the motor being supported on its spring supported arms, and in which the motors are so arranged on the spring supported arms that their drive shafts pass through the arms.

16. A gun carriage according to claim 1, in which the spring supported arms are of dished construction.

(References on following page) FOREIGN PATENTS Austria. Canada. Denmark. France. France. Germany. Great Britain.

10 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

S. C. BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GUN CARRIAGE COMPRISING AN AXLE, GROUND ENGAGING WHEELS AND SPRING SUPPORTED ARMS WITH THE AXLE SUPPORTED ON THE WHEELS, A FRAME OF APPROXIMATELY RHOMBOIDAL SHAPE MOUNTED ON THE AXLE, A GROUND ENGAGING SPUR PROVIDED AT EACH SIDE OF THE FRAME, EACH SPUR BEING MOUNTED ON AN ARM WHICH IS SUPPORTED ON THE FRAME FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A SHAFT WHOSE AXIS EXTENDS LONGITUDINALLY RELATIVE TO THE FRAME. 